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COMPLIMENTARY   BANQUET 


GIVKN    BY    THK 


CITY    COUNCIL    OF    BOSTON  . 


REAU-ADMIRAL    LESSOFFSKY 


AND     THE 


OFFICEKS  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  FLEET, 


AT     THE     REVERE     HOUSE,     JUNE     7,     1864, 


BOSTON: 
J.  E.  FAR  WELL  &  COMPANY,   PRINTERS    TO  THE    CITY,         ^ 

3.    C0.o„..s    S....r. 


£] 


18(5  4. 


/■■w'4 


^0  N^/---,  ^—s    ^ 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2008  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/complimentarybanOObostrich 


COMPLIMENTARY   BANQUET 


GIVKN     isy    THK 


CITY   COUNCIL    OF   BOSTON 


REAll-ADMIllAL    LESSOFFSKY 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  FLEET, 


AT     THE     REVERE     HOUSE,     JUNE     7,     1864. 


BOSTON: 
J.   E.  FARWELL  &  COMPANY,   PRIN'rEKS    TO  THE    CITY, 


37     OONGEESS     STRKKT. 

18  64. 


i 


F7S 


BANQUET 


Officers  of  the  Russian  Fleet. 


Ni  MONG   the  formal   entertainments   tendered    to   Rear- 
Admiral    LessofFsky    and    the    officers    of  the    Russian 


Fleet,  by  His  Honor  the  Mayor  and  the  City  Council 
of  Boston,  was  a  banquet  at  the  Revere  House,  on  the  seventh 
of  June.  About  two  hundred  gentlemen,  including  the  mem- 
bers of  the  City  Council,  were  present. 

The  Imperial  Navy  was  represented  by  Rear- Admiral 
LessofFsky,  Captain  Boutakoff,  of  the  Flag  Ship  Osliaba, 
Captain  Sarcovnin,  Flag  Captain,  Captain  Kremer  of  the 
Vitiaz,  Lieutenant  Liitke,  Aide-de-Camp  to  the  Grand  Duke 
Constantine,  Lieutenant  SerebrakofF,  Judge  Advocate,  and 
other  officers. 

Among  the  distinguished  citizens  invited  to  meet  them  were 
Hon.  Edward  Everett,  Hon.  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  Admiral 
Stringham,  commanding  U.  S.  Navy  Yard,  at  Charlestown, 
Hon.  R.  H.  Dana,  Jr.,  U.  S.  District  Attorney,  Prof.  Louis 
Agassiz,  of  Harvard  University,  Hon.  J.  G.  Palfrey,  William 
Ropes,  Esq.,  and  his  son  Joseph  S.  Ropes,  Esq.,  R.  B. 
Storer,  Esq.,  Russian  Consul,  and  other  foreign  consuls. 

The  company  entered  the  dining-hall  at  6J  o'clock. 

His  Honor  Mayor  Lincoln  presided,  the  Admiral  occupying 
a  seat  on  his  right  and  Mr.  Everett  the  one  on  his  left.  Rev. 
Dr.  Hague  invoked  the  Divine  blessing.  When  the  company 
had  dined,  the  Mayor  asked  their  attention,  and  said :  — 


ivi6?36i;3 


4  BANQUET    TO    THE    OFFICERS 

'*  The  first  honors  due  on  this  occasion  are  to  the  Ruler  of 
our  Nation,  and  I   ask   you  to  rise  and   drink  with   me  to 

"  The  health  of  the  President  of  the  United  States." 

This  toast  was  drunk  with  cheers,  all  rising,  while  the 
Gerniania  Band,  stationed  in  an  ante-room,  played  "  Hail 
Columbia." 

The  Mayor  continued :  ' '  We  were  in  hopes  to  have  been 
honored  with  the  presence  of  the  Governor  of  our  Common- 
wealth, but  a  domestic  affliction  has  prevented  his  attendance ; 
I  therefore  would  propose  to  you 

"  The  health  of  His  Excellency  the  Governor." 

This  toast  was  also  drunk  standing,  the  band  playing  "  Hail 
to  the  Chief." 

The  Mayor  then  made  the  following  remarks  :  — 

Gentlemen  of  the  City  Council  : 

It  is  under  no  ordinary  circumstances  that  we  are 
assembled  this  evening  around  the  festive  board.  The 
time  and  place,  the  state  of  our  beloved  country,  the 
character  and  position  of  our  distinguished  guests,  give 
to  the  occasion  a  significance  and  interest  unexampled 
in  our  Municipal  annals. 

Our  people  are  drawing  near  to  the  close  of  a  des- 
perate struggle,  which  is  to  determine  the  integrity  of 
our  National  existence.  At  such  a  period  we  are  as- 
sembled here  in  peace  and  quiet  to  entertain  by  becom- 
ing hospitalities  the  representatives  of  a  foreign  nation, 
whose  sympathy  has  uniformly  encouraged  our  efforts, 
and  who  will  rejoice  with  us  in  the  triumphal  success 


OF    THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  5 

of  the  cause  to  which  we  have  given  our  best  blood 
and  treasure. 

God,  in  his  vprovidence,  has  divided  his  children 
upon  earth  into  many  nations.  To  each  He  has  as- 
signed its  peculiar  and  particular  work.  They  do  not 
become  necessarily  antagonistic  on  account  of  the  dif- 
ference of  their  geographical  position,  or  the  diversity 
of  their  political  institutions  ;  but  their  true  fraternal 
relations  to  each  other  is  discovered  when  one  is  suf- 
fering in  adversity,  and  the  other,  with  manly  courage 
and  unselfish  devotion,  seeks  to  cheer  by  its  moral  in- 
fluence, and  to  show  by  outvi^ard  demonstrations  the 
strength  of  its  friendship  and  the  cordiality  of  its  regard. 

The  great  Empire  of  Russia,  whose  early  history 
dates  far  back  into  the  distant  past,  was  one  of  the  first 
to  welcome  our  young  Republic  into  the  family  of 
Nations.  She  has  ever  been  frank  and  constant  in  all 
her  intercourse  with  us.  No  bitterness  or  strife  has 
ever  caused  any  ill  feeling ;  but  from  the  commence- 
ment of  our  career  until  this  day  she  has  stood  our 
firm  friend  and  true  ally. 

The  loyal  people  of  the  North,  therefore,  hailed  with 
joy,  last  autumn,  the  arrival  of  his  Imperial  Majesty's 
Squadron  in  the  United  States.  It  did  not  bring  arms 
or  munitions  of  war  to  our  assistance,  —  these  we  did 
not  need,  for  with  our  own  might  we  are  bound  to  put 
down  this  Rebellion  ;  but  it  brought  more  than  these,  — 


b  BANQUET   TO    THE    OFFICERS 

the  kindly  sentiment  of  International  Brotherhood ; 
and  it  has  given  us  the  opportunity  for  the  formation 
of  those  intimate  personal  relations  .with  its  accom- 
plished officers,  which  will  strengthen  the  ties  already 
existing  between  the  two  Nations,  and  will  have  no 
inconsiderable  influence  in  promoting  the  future  pros- 
perity of  both  countries. 

Arriving  first,  appropriately,  in  th^  waters  of  the 
commercial  metropolis  of  the  Union,  and  there  receiv- 
ing the  first  shout  of  welcome  from  the  people,  then 
visiting  Washington,  our  National  Capital,  and  there 
cordially  greeted  by  the  President  of  the  Nation,  it 
finally  honors  us  by  its  presence,  and  takes  its  de- 
parture from  our  Bay,  after  partaking  of  such  farewell 
courtesies  as  it  is  in  the  power  of  our  city  to  bestow. 

The  intelligent  observer  of  events  in  the  history  of 
nations,  can  have  no  more  interesting  or  inspiring 
theme  of  thought,  than  that  furnished,  by  the  past 
career  and  future  prospects  of  Russia  and  the  United 
States.  One  a  colossal  Empire,  its  territory  embrac- 
ing in  extent  not  only  a  large  portion  of  Europe, 
but  of  Western  Asia  and  America,  and  by  its  acts 
affecting  the  welfare  and  civilization  of  the  Old  World ; 
the  other  a  youthful  Republic,  not  yet  hardened  in  its 
sinews,  its  powers  and  resources  but  half  developed, 
but  destined  to  be.  the  controlling  influence  in  the 
afi"airs  of  the    American   Continent,  and   forming,  on 


OF    THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  7 

account  of  its  maritime  character,  a  power  which  will 
be  felt  in  the  old  world  as  well  as   the  new. 

Diverse  in  their  political  organizations  and  their 
forms  of  government,  they  are  both  progressive  na- 
tions, fostering,  as  time  goes  on,  liberal  sentiments, 
and  each  promoting  by  rational  means  the  elevation 
of  the  great  mass  of  the  people.  There  is  a  contrast, 
and  also  a  remarkable  coincidence,  in  their  history 
during  the  last  three  years.  While  one,  by  the  will 
of  its  sovereign,  and  the  approval  of  the  most  en- 
lightened of  his  people,  has  peaceably  emancipated 
and  given  freedom  to  twenty- two  millions  of  his  sub- 
jects, the  other,  although  it  knew  it  not  at  its  com- 
mencement, has  been  engaged  in  a  struggle  which 
will  accomplish,  we  trust,  the  same  results  for  its  own 
inhabitants  held  in  bondage. 

The  present  Emperor  may  have  inherited  titles  and 
honors  from  his  predecessors ;  but  no  act  will  render 
his  name  so  famous  in  history,  or  cause  his  reign  to 
be  regarded  with  more  grateful  emotions  by  posterity 
than  his  proclamation  of  freedom  to  the  serfs  in  his 
dominions.  It  will  give  him  a  title  more  illustrious 
than  any  of  his  predecessors,  that  of  "  The  Liberator 
of  his  people." 

.  We  have  a  right,  as  friends  of  humanity,  to  congrat- 
ulate him  and  his  people  on  the  new  source  of 
power  which  will  be  developed  in  his  nation  by  this 
noble  deed. 


8  BANQUET    TO    THE    OFFICERS 

The  compliment  tendered  to  the  United  States  by 
the  friendly  visit  of  the  Russian  Squadron  is  most 
heartily  appreciated  by  the  people  of  Boston.  Its 
Municipal  Government  have,  in  various  ways,  sought 
to  give  an  expression  of  the  popular  feeling.  Our 
manufactories,  schools,  seminaries  of  learning,  chari- 
table and  literary  institutions,  forts,  arsenal,  and  navy 
yard,  —  our  historical  localities  and  public  works,  and 
everything  which  we  believe  would  be  of  interest  to 
the  stranger,  or  give  an  insight  into  our  national  or 
social  life,  have  been  open  to  the  inspection  of  its 
officers  and  men.  And  to-night  we  are  assembled,  in 
company  with  some  of  our  own  distinguished  citi- 
zens, to  pay  to  them  and  to  the  sovereign  they  repre- 
sent our  homage  of  respect  and  esteem. 

I  can  assure  you,  Mr.  Admiral,  and  Gentlemen  of 
the  Imperial  Navy,  that  this  assembly  is  convened 
for  no  idle  purpose.  The  occasion  may  last  for  an 
hour,  but  the  sentiment  it  represents  is  sincere  and 
enduring.  The  friendship  we  have  formed  with  your- 
selves has  given  a  new  interest  to  the  country  of 
which  you  are  the  honored  representatives.  Your 
flag  has  gracefully  floated  with  our  own  at  the  mast- 
head, and  has  mingled  in  the  drapery  of  our  festive 
occasions.  It  typifies  that  cordial  good  feeling  and 
friendly  interest  which  binds  our  two  nations  together. 

In  the  presence  of  this  assembly,  and  in  the  name 


OF    THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  if 

of  the  people  of  Boston,  I  tender  you  thanks  for 
your  visit.  It  has  afforded  the  citizens  of  both 
nations  an  opportunity  of  knowing  each  other  better, 
and  of  securing  each  other's  regard.  You  have  offered 
us  your  hand  as  a  pledge  of  friendship  in  this  day 
of  our  severest  trial.  We  accept  it;  and  may  the 
God  of  Nations  grant  that  in  the  future  nothing 
may  occur  to  cause  its  withdraw^al,  or  to  alienate  the 
cordial  relations  now  existing  between  the  people  of 
our  respective  nations. 

I  close,  gentlemen,  by  proposing  as  a  sentiment :  — 

"The  health  of  their  Imperial  Majesties,  the  Emperor  and 
Empress  of  Russia,  and  a  cordial  welcofne  to  Rear- Admiral 
Lessoffsky  and  the  officers  of  the  Squadron  under  his  com- 
mand." 

The  band  played  the  Russian  National  Hymn,  and  the  com- 
pany gave  six  cheers  for  Admiral  Lessoffsky.  He  spoke  in 
substance   as  follows  :  — 

Mr.  Mayor  and  Gentlemen  :  I  have  been  requested 
to  say  a  few  words.  I  am  not  a  speaker,  but  I 
cannot  say  I  am  afraid  to  speak  on  this  occasion, 
because  I  want  to  give  vent  to  the  feelings  of  gratitude 
which  I  feel,  in  common  with  my  brother  officers. 
This  week,  gentlemen,  has  been  a  week  full  of  events, 
—  I  mean  of  events  for  our  feelings.  We  have  expe- 
rienced your  most  cordial  hospitality.     We  have  been 


10  BANQUET   TO    THE   OFFICERS 

introduced  into  those  of  your  institutions  where  philan- 
thropy soothes  the  sufferings  of  mankind.  These  are 
most  thrilling  sensations.  We  have  been  introduced 
into  your  schools,  where  you  prepare  citizens  to  be 
your  statesmen,  —  to  be  your  defenders  in  the  hours  of 
trial. 

We  have  received  so  many  tokens  of  friendship  from 
you,  gentlemen,  that  I  am  convinced  that  the  intelli- 
gence will  be  hailed  by  you  with  feelings  of  pleasure, 
when  I  tell  you  that  since  the  hour  when  Emancipa- 
tion was  proclaimed  by  His  Majesty  the  Emperor,  not 
less  than  four  thousand  schools  have  been  established 
by  the  people  themselves.  (Cheers.)  A  short  time 
ago,  I  regret  to  say,  these  men  were  but  little  more 
than  beasts  of  burden,  but  now,  without  any  support 
from  government,  they  have  made  these  four  thou- 
sand  schools. 

Now,  gentlemen,  I  cannot  illustrate  better  the  feeling 
with  which  we  are  animated  in  gratitude  to  you  than, 
if  you  will  allow  me,  by  repeating  a  scene  which  I  wit- 
nessed the  day  before  yesterday,  on  board  of  my  ship, 
in  New  York  —  the  Alexander  Nevsky  —  which  is 
about  to  leave  your  country.  The  officers  gave  me  a 
dinner  party.  We  were  alone,  our  own  family.  There 
was  not  a  single  American  among  us ;  but  among  the 
toasts  proposed,  a  prominent  one,  was  a  toast  of  grati- 
tude to  the  Americans,  and  a  wish  for  the  prosperity 


I 


m 


OF   THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  11 

of  their  country.     It  was  pronounced  as  it  would  be  in 
any  family. 

The  family  there,  gentlemen,  was  the  officers  who 
have  experienced  your  hospitality  and  your  good 
wishes,  for  which  we  are  most  grateful. 

The  Mayor  then  proposed  the  next  regular  sentiment,  to 
which  he  called  on  Mr.  Everett  to  respond.     The  toast  was  :  — 

Russia  and  the  Uniled  States.  As  their  territorial  possessions 
together  embrace  the  entire  circuit  of  the  globe,  may  the  gov- 
ernments and  peoples  of  the  two  countries  ever  be  connected 
by  the  strongest  ties  of  mutual  friendship  and  good  will. 

Mr.  Everett  responded  as  follows  :  — 

I  obey  your  call,  Mr.  Mayor,  with  great  cheerfulness, 
and  I  respond  with  all  my  heart  to  the  toast  which  you 
have  offered  to  the  company.  It  is  by  no  means  an 
ordinary  festival  which  has  brought  us  together  at  this 
time,  but,  as  you  have  justly  stated,  an  occasion  of  un- 
usual public  significance  and  interest.  I  feel  myself 
under  obligations  to  Admiral  Lessoffsky  and  the  gentle- 
men of  his  suite  and  fleet,  for  a  reason  in  some  meas- 
ure personal  to  myself.  I  had  occasion,  about  a  twelve- 
month since,  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Visitors  of 
the  United  States  Naval  Academy  at  Newport,  in  some 
remarks  which  I  addressed  to  the  officers  and  pupils  of 
the  institution,  at  the  close  of  the  examination,  to 
speak  of  the  importance  of  making  provision  for  the 


12  BANQUET    TO   THE    OFFICERS 

instruction  of  our  naval  officers,  not  only  in  those  scien- 
tific and  technical  branches  and  military  exercises 
which  belong  to  the  profession,  but  in  those  broader 
studies,  which  pertain  to  a  finished  education,  and  I 
gave  as  a  reason  for  this  observation  that  the  naval 
officer  was  often  called  upon  to  appear  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  his  government  in  foreign  countries. 
What  more  pleasing  confirmation  of  the  justice  of  this 
remark  could  I  desire,  than  the  agreeable  impression 
which  has  been  made  upon  our  whole  community,  by 
the  visit  of  our  distinguished  guests  ?  Why,  sir,  a 
regular  diplomatic  agent,  —  an  Envoy  Extraordinary 
and  Minister  Plenipotentiary,  may  be  received  and 
treated  with  the  utmost  courtesy ;  he  may  discharge 
his  duties  with  the  greatest  fidelity  to  his  own  govern- 
ment, —  frankly  and  honorably  toward  the  government 
to  which  he  is  accredited,  but,  after  exchanging  assur- 
ances of  his  highest  consideration  with  the  minister  of 
foreign  aff"airs  every  fortnight  for  a  year,  he  will  have 
done  less  to  bring  the  people  of  the  two  countries  to- 
gether, than  has  been  done  by  our  amiable  and  distin- 
guished guests  in  a  week. 

It  has  been  the  pleasing  duty  of  the  Trustees  of  the 
Public  Library  to  do  the  honors  of  that  institution  to 
many  distinguished  visitors,  foreign  and  native  ;  among 
thfe  former,  to  the  youthful  heir  to  the  British  crown, 
whose  gracious  affability  >and  extreme  propriety  of  con- 


OF   THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  13 

duct  in  a  difficult  position  drew  to  himself  a  full  share 
of  that  respect  and  good  will  which  the  people  of 
America  cherish,  in  a  degree  scarcely  less  than  her 
subjects,  toward  his  royal  mother,  —  and  to  the  highly 
accomplished  and  intelligent  prince  who  stands  in  so 
near  a  relation  to  the  throne  of  France ;  but  it  is  no 
flattery  to  say,  that  the  library  has  never,  within  my 
knowledge,  been  visited  by  persons  who  have  exhibited 
a  more  enlightened  and  intelligent  curiosity,  as  to  the 
nature,  condition,  and  workings  of  such  an  institution, 
than  our  respected  guests. 

Such  are  the  fruits  of  a  wise  system  of  naval  educa- 
tion ;  the  education  which  has  given  to  Russia  such 
names  as  Golovnin,  Krusenstern,  Liitke,  Kotzebue, 
and  Bellingshausen ;  and  which  I  mention  quite  as 
much  for  the  benefit  of  our  own  government  and  peo- 
ple, as  out  of  compliment  to  our  honored  guests.  It  is 
but  about  twenty  years  since  our  solitary  naval  school 
was  established,  and  it  has  by  no  means  attained  the 
expansion  required  even  by  the  ordinary  wants  of  the 
service.  On  the  other  hand,  I  find  in  a  work  of  au- 
thority published  several  years  ago,  that  there  were 
supported,  under  the  minister  of  the  marine  in  Russia, 
nine  naval  schools  of  all  kinds  for  the  education  of 
officers,  seamen,  pilots,  and  engineers,  in  tlie  Baltic 
and  Black  seas,  with  an  aggregate  of  more  than  two 
hundred  and  fifty  teachers  and  more  than  two  thousand 


14  BANQUET    TO    THE    OFFICERS 

five  hundred  pupils.  You  must,  however,  Admiral, 
make  some  allowance  for  our  youth.  It  is  but  a  few 
years  —  fifty  at  the  outside  ^  since  the  United  States 
claimed  a  place  among  the  considerable  naval  powers  ; 
but  it  is  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  since 
that  most  extraordinary  personage,  Peter  the  Great, 
under  the  humble  name  of  Peter  Baas  (Boss  Peter) 
wrought,  with  his  own  hands,  in  the  shipyards  of 
Sardam.  ^ 

As  you  have  truly  remarked,  sir,  Russia  was  one  of 
the  first  powers  to  hold  out  the  hand  of  fellowship  to 
us,  on  our  appearance  in  the  family  of  nations.  Chief 
Justice  Dana  of  this  State  was  sent  as  minister  to  Rus- 
sia in  1780,  and  John  Quincy  Adams,  then  a  lad  of 
fourteen,  was  appointed  by  Congress  his  private  Secre- 
tary, the  youngest  person  perhaps  ever  appointed  to 
such  an  office  in  this  country.  A  pretty  strong  team 
that,  Mr.  Mayor,  Chief  Justice  Dana  and  John  Quincy 
Adams,  and  there  are  grandsons  of  those  distinguished 
personages  in  the  hall,  who  show  that  the  breed  has 
not  degenerated.  Mr.  Harris,  the  British  minister, 
afterwards  Lord  Malmesbury,  succeeded  in  preventing 
the  immediate  recognition  of  Mr.  Dana  by  the  Empress 
Catherine,  but  the  moment  it  could  be  done  without 
off"ence  to  Great  Britain,  that  is,  as  soon  as  the  treaty 
of  1783  was  concluded,  she  recognized  the  infant 
Republic  with  cordiality.      From   that   time    to    this, 


OF    THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  15 

the  best  understanding  has  existed  between  the  two 
governments.  During  the  war  of  1812  with  England, 
Russia  tendered  her  mediation  between  the  two  coun- 
tries. It  was  not  accepted  by  Great  Britain ;  but  the 
proposal  resulted  in  a  direct  negotiation  and  the  con- 
clusion of  the  treaty  of  Ghent.  For  the  whole  period 
of  our  existence  as  a  nation,  the  intercourse  between 
the  two  governments  has  been  most  friendly.  Never 
but  in  a  single  instance,  and  that  more  than  forty  years 
ago,  has  there  been  a  difference  of  opinion  leading  to 
a  discussion  between  them,  and  that  yielded  to  an  ex- 
change of  notes  between  Mr.  Poletica  and  Mr.  Adams. 
When  the  late  Emperor  Nicholas  resolved  upon  in- 
troducing railroads  into  his  dominions,  he  sent  a  com- 
mission to  this  country  to  examine  our  public  works 
of  that  description.  This  examination  resulted  in  the 
engagement  of  Major  Whistler  (the  engineer  of  our 
Western  railroad)  to  superintend  the  construction  of 
the  railroad  from  St.  Petersburg  to  Moscow.  On  occa- 
sion of  the  visit  of  the  Emperor  to  London  in  1844,  I 
had  the  honor  of  being  presented  to  him.  A  more 
magnificent  figure  of  a  man  I  never  beheld ;  it  was 
the  youthful  Hercules  and  Apollo  moulded  into  one, 
and  most  like  General  Scott  thirty  years  ago,  and  be- 
fore age  had  laid  its  burden  on  his  noble  form.  The 
Emperor  spoke  of  Major  Whistler  in  terms  of  the 
highest  commendation.     He  said  he  was  perfectly  sat- 


16  BANQUET    TO    THE    OFFICERS 

isfied  with  him  in  all  respects  ;  and  hoped  he  should 
be  able  to  retain  him  in  Russia.  On  the  premature 
and  lamented  decease  of  Major  Whistler,  another 
American  engineer,  Major  Brown  of  the  Erie  Rail- 
road was  engaged  by  the  Imperial  government  to  com- 
plete the  road  to  Moscow. 

In  the  last  great  struggle,  in  which  Russia  was  in- 
volved, the  sympathies  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  were,  I  think,  generally  with  her.  The  causes 
of  the  Crimean  war  were  obscure  ;  and  what  we  un- 
derstood of  them,  to  wit,  a  wish  to  preserve  the  integ- 
rity of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  did  not  appeal  very 
strongly  to  American  feeling.  We  had  no  quarrel 
with  the  Turks,  but  they  were  not  objects  of  popular 
sympathy.  It  was  known,  besides,  to  well-informed 
persons,  that  the  prime  minister  of  England,  Lord  Ab- 
erdeen, (one  of  the  purest,  wisest,  and  most  honorable 
men  that  ever  governed  England,)  believed  that  the 
war  might  have  been,  and  consequently  ought  to  have 
been,  avoided.  His  colleague.  Sir  James  Graham,  ex- 
pressed the  same  opinion.  The  war  was  brought 
about  by  the  same  agencies,  wielded  in  part  by  the 
same  hands,  which  have  been  equally  busy  in  the  at- 
tempt to  bring  about  a  war  between  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain.  I  need  not  tell  you  that  the  duties 
of  an  honest  neutrality  were  faithfully  performed  by  our 
Government.     Both  of  the  belligerent  parties  procured 


OF   THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  17 

from  this  country,  in  the  way  of  open  trade,  those 
supplies  which  the  law  of  nations  allows  the  neutral 
to  furnish  the  belligerent ;  and  in  the  solitary  instance, 
in  which  an  attempt  was  supposed  to  be  making  to 
build  a  ship  of  war  for  the  Kussian  government,  the 
remonstrances  of  Great  Britain  against  this  breach  of 
neutrality  were  promptly  and  effectually  listened  to  by 
the  government  of  the  United  States. 

But  it  is  during  our  own  tremendous  struggle,  that 
Russia  has  shown  herself  the  wise,  the  firm,  and  the 
consistent  friend  of  our  country.  Her  Emperor  and 
his  enlightened  counsellors  saw,  what  France  and  Eng- 
land were  slow  to  comprehend,  that  the  rupture  of  the 
American  Union  would  be  an  event  as  much  to  be 
deprecated  by  them,  nay,  by  the  slaveholding  States 
themselves,  as  by  our  own  constitutional  Government. 
Never,  I  suppose,  in  the  history  of  the  civilized  world 
has  there  been  an  attempted  revolution,  in  which,  — 
after  the  frenzy  of  the  hour  is  passed,  —  success  would 
be  felt  to  be  so  signal  a  calamity  by  the  revolting  party 
itself,  as  it  would  inevitably  prove  to  our  rebellious 
States;  and  so  entirely  prejudicial  to  the  best  interests 
of  the  civilized  world.  This,  however,  was  clearly 
seen  from  the  outset  by  the  Government  of  the  Em- 
peror of  Russia.  That  Government  alone  of  the  three 
leading  powers  of  Europe  perceived,  with  prompt  dis- 
cernment, that  the  disintegration  of  the  Union  would 


18  BANQUET    TO    THE   OFFICERS 

be  disastrous  to  all  parties,  —  a  calamity  to  the  family 
of  nations,  unrelieved  by  a  single  benefit.  In  that  re- 
markable letter  of  Prince  Gortschakoff,  the  Russian 
Minister  for  Foreign  affairs,  dated  10th  July,  1861, 
and  addressed  to  the  Russian  Envoy  in  this  country,  to 
be  communicated  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  he  uses 
this  memorable  language :  "  In  spite  of  the  diversity 
of  their  Constitutions  and  of  their  interests,  perhaps 
even  because  of  their  diversity.  Providence  seems  to 
urge  the  United  States  to  draw  closer  the  traditional 
bond,  as  the  basis  and  very  condition  of  their  political 
existence.  In  any  event,  the  sacrifices  they  might  im- 
pose upon  themselves  to  maintain  it  are  not  to  be  com- 
pared with  those  which  dissolution  would  bring  after  it. 
United  they  perfect  themselves  ;  separated  from  each 
other  they  are  paralyzed."  And  again,  in  the  same 
remarkable  despatch.  Prince  Gortschakoff,  speaking 
in  the  name  of  the  Emperor  and  of  Russia,  says  : 
"  The  American  Union  is  not  merely,  in  our  eyes,  an 
element  essential  to  the  universal  political  equili- 
brium ;  it  constitutes  besides  a  nation,  to  which  our 
august  master  and  all  Russia  have  pledged  the  most 
friendly  interest ;  for  the  two  countries  placed  at  the 
extremities  of  the  two  worlds,  both  in  the  ascending 
period  of  their  development,  appear  called  to  a  nat- 
ural community  of  interests  and  sympathies,  of  which 
they  have  already  given  mutual  proofs  to  each  other." 


OF    THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  19 

Words  of  sagacity  and  wisdom,  as  well  as  of  friend- 
ship and  peace  !  The  Emperor  of  Russia  tells  the 
American  States,  and  tells  them  truly,  that  the  Union 
is  the  very  condition  of  their  political  existence  ;  that 
united  they  perfect  themselves,  that  separated  from 
each  other  they  are  paralyzed.  Such,  in  the  opinion 
of  this  impartial  observer,  is  the  Union.  Does  not  the 
slightest  reflection  justify  the  remark  ?  Take  first  the 
case  of  the  States  in  rebellion.  What  would  the  doc- 
trine of  secession,  if  established,  do  for  them  ?  It 
would  more  than  "  paralyze,"  it  would  destroy  their 
political  existence.  It  would  place  the  territory  of 
the  Confederacy,  and  all  its  relations  with  foreign 
powers,  at  the  mercy  of  each  and  every  individual  — 
it  might  be  disaffected  —  State.  Texas,  Louisiana, 
Florida,  recent  acquisitions,  all  of  them,  from  foreign 
powers,  might  each  and  all  set  up  for  themselves ; 
might  fly  ofi"  to  France  or  Spain.  Party  spirit,  domes- 
tic intrigue,  foreign  gold,  the  turn  of  a  popular  elec- 
tion, the  will  of  a  dominant  faction  might,  on  this  doc- 
trine, carry  any  one  of  them  off  to-morrow.  In  the 
mean  time,  by  the  doctrine  of  secession,  the  entire  Con- 
federacy, considered  as  a  whole,  cuts  itself  off  from  a 
great  naval  power  of  which  it  formed  an  integral  part ; 
places  its  coasts,  its  ports,  the  mouths  of  its  rivers  at 
the  mercy  of  every  maritime  power,  and  this  too  at  a 
moment,  when  it  defiantly  announces  that  it  has  estab- 


20  BANQUET   TO   THE    OFFICERS 

lished  itself  upon  a  corner-stone,  which  is  daily  rejected 
more  and  more  by  the  public  sentiment  of  the  civil- 
ized world. 

But  if  the  States  in  rebellion  are  guilty  of  this  sui- 
cidal frenzy,  scarcely  less  at  war  with  an  enlightened 
self-interest  is  the  course  which  their  sympathizers  in 
the  leading  maritime  States  of  Europe  have  endeavored 
to  force  upon  the  governments.  What,  for  instance, 
would  be  more  against  the  interest  of  England,  —  the 
country  which  it  most  concerns  to  enforce  the  du- 
ties of  neutrals,  —  to  establish  the  doctrine,  that,  in  all 
her  future  wars,  and  all  future  rebellions  against  her 
central  government,  her  antagonist,  —  it  may  be  Can- 
ada, or  Ireland,  or  Oude,  or  China,  or  New  Zealand ; 
it  may  be  a  power  that  has  not  a  seaport  or  a  mile  of 
coast, — may  put  in  requisition  every  shipyard  and  every 
foundry  in  the  neutral  States,  provided  only  the  paltry 
sham  is  observed  of  having  the  ships  which  are  to 
prey  on  her  commerce  built  and  equipped  by  one  con- 
tractor, and  the  armament  furnished  and  sent  abroad 
by  another,  to  be  taken  on  board  at  a  foreign  port.  Is 
that  a  doctrine  likely  to  benefit  England  in  particular, 
or  the  commercial  world  in  general  1  or  is  it  rather  a 
device  by  which  private  cupidity  is  enabled  to  break 
down  the  barriers  which  for  two  centuries  the  law  of 
nations  has  been  throwing  round  the  rights  and  duties 
of  belligerents  and  of  neutrals  ? 


OF    THE   RUSSIAN    FLEET.  21 

Again,  after  the  Spanish  colonies  of  this  continent 
had  asserted  their  independence  of  Spain,  England 
importuned  the  United  States  to  cooperate  with  her 
in  preventing  France  from  interfering  to  recolonize 
them ;  and  when  the  United  States  yielded  to  her 
solicitations,  Lord  Brougham  declared  in  the  British 
Parliament  that  "  no  event  had  ever  diifused  greater 
joy,  exultation,  and  gratitude  over  all  the  freemen  of 
Europe  than  the  language  held  with  respect  to  Span- 
ish America  in  the  message  of  President  Monroe  to 
Congress."  The  Secretary  and  Biographer  (Mr.  Sta- 
pleton)  of  the  British  Minister  labors  to  prove  that  the 
ground  taken  by  the  government  of  the  United  States 
on  this  occasion  was  suggested  by  that  Minister  (Mr, 
George  Canning);  and  Sir  James  Mackintosh  said,  "I 
have  already  observed  its  coincidence  with  the  declara- 
tions of  England,  which,  indeed,  is  perfect,  if  allow- 
ance be  made  for  the  deeper,  or  at  least  more  immedi- 
ate interest,  in  the  independence  of  South  America, 
which  near  neighborhood  gives  to  the  United  States. 
This  coincidence  of  the  two  great  English  common- 
wealths (for  so  I  delight  to  call  them,  —  and  I  heartily 
pray  that  they  may  be  forever  united  in  the  cause  of 
justice  and  liberty),  cannot  be  contemplated  without 
the  utmost  pleasure  by  every  enlightened  citizen  of  the 
earth."  What  has  England  gained  by  a  departure 
from  this  policy,  and  by  acquiescing  in  the  reduction 


22  BANQUET    TO   THE    OFFICERS 

of  Mexico  to  the  condition  of  an  Austrian  colony  un- 
der the  protection  of  France?  How  much  better, 
with  a  view  to  her  own  traditionary  policy,  if  she 
could  have  perceived,  with  the  Emperor  of  Russia, 
that  the  perpetuity  of  the  American  Union  is  an  ele- 
ment essential  to  the  universal  political  equilibrium  ! 

How  much  better  for  her  own  interests  if  France 
could  have  perceived  the  same  great  truth !  It  has 
been  the  policy  of  France,  almost  invariably  pursued, 
from  the  very  dawn  of  our  national  existence,  to  pro- 
mote the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  United  States, 
as  a  counterpoise  in  the  West  of  the  maritime  power 
of  England.  This  was  alike  the  policy  of  the  old 
regime  and  the  new  regime.  For  this  Louis  XVI. 
gave  us  arms,  navies,  and  munitions  of  war ;  for  this 
the  first  Napoleon  gave  us  Louisiana  for  a  song ;  and 
of  all  the  errors  in  policy  which  his  successor  could 
possibly  commit,  none  can  be  imagined  more  at  vari- 
ance with  the  traditions  and  interests  of  France  than 
to  do  anything  which  wHl  weaken  the  United  States. 
Regarding  our  Union,  in  the  words  of  Prince  Gort- 
schakofi",  as  an  element  essential  in  the  universal  equi- 
librium, it  would  be  just  as  wise  in  France  to  strip  the 
plates  from  her  iron-clads,  and  leave  their  hulks  to  rot 
at  Brest  and  Toulon,  as  to  assist  in  breaking  up  the 
American  Union  into  a  group  of  small  and  fragmen- 
tary States,  exhausting  each  other  in  eternal  border 


OF    THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  23 

wars,  and  compelled,  from  that  cause,  to  abdicate 
their  position  as  a  great  maritime  power.  So  just 
and  wise  was  the  remark  of  Prince  Gortschakoff  that 
the  American  Union  is  an  element  essential  to  the 
universal  political  equilibrium. 

Before  I  conclude,  Mr.  Mayor,  let  me  make  a  re- 
mark which  had  almost  escaped  me.  When  our 
respected  guests  were  at  New  York  last  year,  receiv- 
ing the  attentions  of  the  commercial  metropolis,  that 
portion  of  the  English  press  which  thinks  the  day 
lost,  when  it  has  not  found  some  thing  to  abuse,  or 
some  person  to  vilify  in  the  United  States,  was  pro- 
foundly grieved  at  the  honors  paid  to  Kussian  offi- 
cers,—  "  It  showed  such  a  want  of  sympathy  for  the 
poor  oppressed  Poles,  on  the  part  of  the  pretended 
friends  of  liberty ! "  Censorious  people,  Mr.  Mayor, 
ought  to  have  good  memories.  I  am  old  enough  to 
remember  the  acclamations  of  joy  which  burst  forth 
in  England  when  the  armies  of  the  First  Napoleon, 
or  rather  the  wretched  fragments  of  his  armies,  were 
driven  from  Russia.  There  was  a  thrill  of  popular 
excitement  which  has  never  since  been  equalled. 
From  every  roaring  cannon,  from  every  pealing  organ, 
from  every  human  tongue,  throughout  the  British  Em- 
pire, arose  one  jubilant  chorus  of  triumph.  Well, 
sir,  Alison  tells  us  that  for  that  terrible  campaign,  Po- 
land furnished  Napoleon  85,000  men.     A  fourth  part, 


24  BANQUET   TO    THE    OFFICERS 

certainly  a  fifth  part,  of  that  army  over  whose  calam- 
itous defeat  all  England  was  in  raptures,  was  composed 
of  Poles.  They  fondly  hoped  that  the  Emperor  of  the 
French  was  going  to  restore  their  independence,  and 
the  bravest  of  their  sons  dyed  the  snows  of  Russia 
with  their  blood.  We  were  then  fifty-one  years 
nearer  the  partition  of  Poland  by  Russia,  Austria, 
and  Prussia  than  we  are  now,  and  the  memory  of 
that  transaction  was  proportionally  fresher  in  the 
minds  of  men.  In  1813  it  did  not  lead  England  to 
reject  the  alliance  with  Russia;  and  if  since  that 
period  she  has  entered  into  the  most  intimate  rela- 
tions, political  or  personal,  with  those  three  powers, 
I  trust  we  may  be  forgiven,  a  half  a  century  later, 
for  following  their   example. 

Sir,  the  Emperor  Alexander  11.  is  not  only  a  wise 
and  prudent,  but  he  is  a  kind-hearted  and  benevolent 
prince.  By  his  autocratic  word  he  has  performed  the 
most  magnificent  act  of  practical  philanthropy  ever 
achieved  by  a  man  of  government.  That  he  and  his 
brother  sovereigns,  the  Emperor  of  Austria  and  the 
King  of  Prussia,  will  attempt  to  undo  the  work  of 
Catherine  the  Second,  Frederick  the  Great,  and  Maria 
Theresa,  by  restoring  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Poland, 
nobody,  I  presume,  expects  or  desires.  If  they  did,  it 
would  simply  be  the  restoration  of  the  worst  government 
in  Christendom.     That  he  will  do  all  in  his  power  to 


OF   THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  25 

improve  the  condition,  promote  the  welfare,  and  ele- 
vate the  character  of  his  Polish  subjects,  may,  I  think, 
safely  be  anticipated  of  a  sovereign,  who,  by  the  word 
of  his  mouth  and  from  the  impulses  of  his  generous 
heart  has  spoken  twenty-two  millions  of  serfs  into 
freemen  and  citizens. 

I  respond,  therefore,  Mr.  Mayor,  to  your  toast,  with 
cordiality  and  emphasis.  I  recognize  in  the  Russian 
Government  a  long  tried,  steady,  and  consistent  friend; 
and  I  contemplate  with  patriotic  pride  this  kindly  tie, 
which,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  from  the 
AUeghanies  to  the  Kocky  Mountains,  from  the  Rocky 
Mountains  to  Icy  Cape,  from  Icy  Cape  to  Kamschatka, 
from  Kamschatka  to  Altai,  from  Altai  to  Ural,  from 
Ural  to  Archangel  and  the  utmost  North,  traversing 
the  entire  breadth  of  America,  of  Asia  and  Europe, 
(soon  to  be  circled  by  the  electric  wire,)  already  unites 
the  two  great  governments  and  peoples  by  the  golden 
chain  of  friendship  and  peace.  Never,  never  may  the 
links  be  parted ! 

Mr.  Everett  closed  with  the  following  sentiment :  — 

The  Navy  of  Russia,  and  a  cordial  welcome  to  its  gallant  and 
accomplished  officers. 

The  toast  was  received  with  six  cheers.      Captain  BoutakofF 
responded  briefly,  and  closed  with  a  sentiment  complimentary  to 
the  American  Navy. 
4 


26  BANQUET   TO    THE    OFFICERS 

The  Mayor  then  alluded  to  the  fact  that  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  being  in  session,  no  member. of  it  was  present  on 
this  occasion ;  but  said  that  he  would  call  on  a  gentleman  who 
had  represented  this  city  at  Washington  for  a  longer  term  than 
any  one  since  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution. 

The  health  of  Hon.  Robert  C.  Winthrop  being  thus  proposed, 
the  band  gave  the  "  Star-Spangled  Banner."  Mr.  Winthrop's 
speech,  which  was  heartily  cheered  at  many  points,  was  as 
follows :  — 

I  thank  you,  Mr.  Mayor,  for  the  privilege  of  being 
present  on  this  occasion,  and  of  uniting  with  the  City 
Council  of  Boston  in  these  marks  of  respect  for  their 
distinguished  guests.  The  speech  of  the  evening  is 
already  made ;  and  made  by  him  who  is  at  once  best 
entitled  and  most  able  to  make  it.  But  I  cannot  re- 
fuse to  say  a  few  words  in  response  to  your  compli- 
mentary call. 

As  I  look  back  on  that  long  service  in  Congress 
to  which  you  have  alluded,  I  cannot  forget  the  many 
kindnesses  and  courtesies  for  which  I  was  indebted 
to  the  Russian  Legation  at  Washington ;  and  I  gladly 
avail  myself  of  this  opportunity,  before  alluding  to  any 
other  topic,  to  pay  a  passing  tribute  to  the  memory 
of  the  late  Mr.  Bodisco,  who  for  nearly  twenty  years, 
I  believe,  represented  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of 
Russia  at  our  Republican  Court.  True  always  to  his 
own  country,  he  was  yet  animated  with  the  same  spirit 
which  dictated  that  noble  despatch  of  Prince  Gortsch- 


OF    THE   RUSSIAN    FLEET.  27 

akoff,  to  which  Mr.  Everett  has  so  eloquently  referred. 
He  seemed  to  have  the  welfare  and  honor  of  our 
country,  as  well  as  his  own,  honestly  at  heart ;  to 
desire  earnestly  the  preservation  of  our  domestic  peace 
and  of  our  National  Union ;  and  to  watch  eagerly  for 
opportunities  of  reconciling  any  antagonisms  which 
threatened  to  disturb  the  relations  of  the  North  and 
South.  Enjoying  the  intimacy  and  the  confidence  of 
our  most  distinguished  men  of  all  parties  and  sec- 
tions, —  of  Clay  and  Webster,  of  Calhoun  and  Benton, 
and  many  others  not  unworthy  to  be  named  in  the 
same  connection,  —  he  took  peculiar  pleasure  in  bring- 
ing them  together  beneath  his  own  roof  and  around 
his  own  hospitable  and  sumptuous  board,  and  in 
doing  all  that  he  could  to  soften  the  asperities  and 
animosities  which  are  too  often  engendered  by  the 
controversies  of  political  parties  and  the  rivalries  of 
political  leaders ;  and  more  than  one  personal  diffi- 
culty, which  might  have  led  to  most  unhappy  con- 
sequences, has  owed  its  amicable  adjustment  to  his 
timely  and  effective  intervention. 

I  am  happy  to  believe,  Mr.  Mayor,  that  a  similar  spirit 
has  ever  been  evinced  by  the  present  Minister  of  the 
Russian  Emperor,  Mr.  de  Stoeckl,  who  was  long  as- 
sociated with  Mr.  Bodisco  as  his  principal  Secretary, 
and  upon  whom  his  mantle  has  worthily  fallen.  Both 
of  them,  let  me  add,  paid  our  country  the  compliment 


28  BANQUET    TO   THE    OFFICERS 

of  taking  to  themselves  American  wives,  —  and  very 
charming  wives,  too  ;  —  and  thus  they  had  a  right  to 
feel  that  their  relation  to  the  United  States  was  some- 
thing more  than  one  of  mere  diplomatic  form  and 
ceremony.  I  am  sure,  however,  they  were  not  induced 
to  select  American  wives  from  any  want  of  attractive 
and  accomplished  women  in  their  own  land.  I  have 
seen,  indeed,  but  few  Russian  ladies.  The  only  one, 
I  believe,  whom  I  have  ever  met  on  American  soil,  is 
the  wife  of  the  distinguished  officer  at  my  side,  who 
may  be  called,  after  the  phrase  of  Shakespeare,  "  our 
gallant  Admiral's  Admiral ;  "  —  whom  we  have  all  seen 
here  with  so  much  pleasure,  and  who  will  be  accom- 
panied by  our  best  wishes  on  her  embarkation  in  the 
steamer  for  Europe  to  morrow.  But  I  have  another  in 
my  mind's  eye  at  this  moment,  whom  I  have  been  priv- 
ileged to  know  in  another  land,  —  she  is  now  no  more, 
and  I  may  not  presume  to  pronounce  her  name  on  any 
public  or  festive  occasion,  —  but  whose  varied  and 
brilliant  accomplishments,  whose  familiarity  with  al- 
most every  language  spoken  beneath  the  sun,  whose 
graces  of  manner  and  charms  of  conversation  and 
kindness  of  heart,  and,  above  all,  whose  fortitude  and 
heroism  under  the  deepest  personal  and  physical  suf- 
fering, will  never  be  effaced  from  my  remembrance. 

I  do  not  forget,  Mr.  Mayor,  the  many  estimable  and 
excellent  representatives  of  other  lands  whom  I  have 


OF    THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  29 

had  the  good  fortune  to  meet  at  the  capital  of  our 
country  ;  but  Mr.  Everett  I  am  sure  will  agree  with 
me,  that  no  Legation  has  been  more  uniformly  or  more 
highly  valued  and  respected  than  the  Russian  Lega- 
tion, personally  and  officially,  by  all  who  have  been 
privileged  to  know  those  who  have  composed  it.  I 
regret  that  M.  de  Stoeckl  could  not  have  been  with  us 
to-day,  that  we  might  have  included  him  in  the  com- 
pliments of  this  occasion,  and  that  we  might  have 
united  in  drinking  his  health,  with  all  the  honors  to 
which  he  is  entitled,  as  the  accredited  Representative 
of  the  Emperor. 

The  Russian  Empire,  sir,  has  been  less  visited  by 
American  travellers  than  any  other  of  the  great  coun- 
tries of  the  old  world.  It  has  always  seemed  a  great 
deal  farther  off  from  us  than  other  countries,  and  in 
many  other  respects  besides  physical  distance.  Its 
institutions  are  in  the  greatest  possible  contrast  to  our 
own.  Its  domestic  policy  in  years  past  has  often  been 
the  very  reverse  of  that  which  we  could  all  have 
wished.  Its  names  are  very  hard  to  pronounce,  and 
even  harder  to  remember.  Its  language  is  very 
difficult  to  be  learned,  and  is  understood  by  so  few 
of  us,  that  we  have  been  obliged  to  take  all  our 
accounts  of  the  land  and  its  inhabitants  at  second  hand. 
As  a  matter  of  geography,  indeed,  we  have  not  failed 
to  observe  its  magnificent  distances  and  colossal  pro- 


30  BANQUET    TO   THE    OFFICERS 

portions  on  the  map.  As  a  matter  of  history,  we  have 
not  omitted  to  recognize  the  giant  strides  with  which  it 
has  marched  on,  and  is  still  marching  on,  to  no  second 
place  among  the  nations  of  the  world.  But  prac- 
tically, and  as  a  matter  of  personal  concern,  it  has 
rarely  been  recalled  to  us  by  any  thing  more  substan- 
tial than  the  Nesselrode  pudding  or  the  Charlotte 
Russe  on  our  bills  of  fare ;  by  the  hemp  required  for 
the  rigging  of  our  men-of-war,  or  for  the  smaller  rope 
which  is  sometimes  brought  into  uncomfortable  play  in 
cases  of  treason  or  of  crime  ;  or,  —  more  agreeably,  cer- 
tainly than  either, — by  the  glorious  Hymn  now  known 
to  all  our  orchestras,  and  adopted  in  all  our  churches, 
which  is  by  no  means  inferior  even  to  the  far-famed 
antheih  of  Old  England  in  the  richness  of  its  harmony, 
and  the  majestic  grandeur  of  its  cadences.  But  recent 
events  have  changed  the  whole  aspect  of  our  relations 
with  Russia.  The  Emperor's  late  noble  act  of  emanci- 
pation at  home,  and  his  kind  and  generous  words  con- 
veyed in  the  despatch  of  Prince  Gortschakoff  to  our 
own  Government,  have  struck  a  sympathetic  and  re- 
sponsive chord  in  every  American  breast,  as  directly 
and  as  effectively,  as  if  those  magnetic  wires  which 
Mr.  Everett  has  just  foreshadowed,  and  which  are  even 
now  in  preparation,  had  already  been  stretched  across 
the  Siberian  desert,  had  already  been  strung  along  the 
banks  of  the  Amoor,  had  already  vibrated  over  Behr- 


OF    THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  31 

ings  Straits,  and  as  if  the  living  spark  had  leaped  at 
a  bound  from  the  palace  of  the  Czars  to  the  hearts  of 
the  American  people. 

And  now,  while  we  are  welcoming  the  Russian  flag 
and  the  Russian  fleet  to  our  harbors,  and  exchanging 
these  acts  of  courtesy  with  so  many  intelligent  and 
gallant  ofiicers  of  the  Imperial  Navy,  let  us  not  forget 
the  health  of  the  General  Admiral  of  that  navy. 

It  was  my  good  fortune,  seventeen  or  eighteen  years 
ago,  to  see  this  distinguished  person  in  London.  He 
was  then  a  very  young  man,  and  he  had  come  over, 
not  in  disguise,  like  Peter  the  Great,  but  openly  and 
avowedly  to  study  the  military  institutions  and  naval 
establishments  of  England.  I  saw  him  reviewing  the 
Queen's  household  troops  in  company  with  the  late 
lamented  Prince  Consort  and  the  ever  honored  and 
illustrious  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  I  was  afterwards 
privileged  to  meet  him  at  the  British  Court.  We  have 
an  Aide-de-Camp  of  his  with  us  on  this  occasion, — 
himself  the  son  of  the  President  of  the  Imperial  Acad- 
emy of  Sciences,  and  whose  voice  has  already  been 
welcomed  at  the  opening  of  our  new  Hall  of  Natural 
History. 

I  propose  the  health  of  His  Imperial  Highness  the 
Grand  Duke  Constantine,  the  General  Admiral  of  the 
Russian  Navy. 


32  BANQUET   TO    THE    OFFICERS 

The  toast  having  been  received  veith  cheers,  and  the  band 
having  played  the  Russian  Hymn  again,  Lieut.  Liitke,  who 
had  been  referred  to  by  Mr.  Winthrop  as  Alde-de-Camp  to  the 
Grand  Duke,  responded  in  the  name  of  his  illustrious  chief. 
He  said  — 

Mr.  Mayor  :  I  must  say  —  having  been  in  the 
closest  intercourse  with  the  Grand  Duke — I  know 
his  ideas  in  reference  to  the  American  nation,  and 
that,  being  one  of  the  Princes  of  the  Imperial  blood 
who  has  been  an  active  member  of  the  Government, 
that  the  Prince  has  been,  in  the  great  act  of  the  Em- 
peror, a  most  active  member,  and  was  one  of  the 
committee  to  carry  out  the  act  of  emancipation.  I 
am  sure  that  the  Grand  Duke  has  a  most  hearty 
feeling  for  America,  and  for  her  progress,  for  he  is 
himself  a  man  of  progress.  He  has  heard  of  all  the 
improvements  which  you  have  made  in  the  different 
kinds  of  manufactures,  and  has  sent  out  to  America 
men  to  study  these  improvements.  Amongst  others 
whom  he  has  sent,  I  take  the  liberty  of  mentioning 
Admiral  Lessoffsky  as  being  sent  to  examine  your 
iron-clad  ships  and  monitors.  It  is  the  Grand  Duke 
who  has  put  the  navy  on  its  present  footing,  and  in- 
troduced the  monitors  into  our  navy.  I  am  sure  that 
he  will  be  very  glad  to  have  heard  his  name  pro- 
nounced in  this  distinguished  society,  and  I  thank  you 
in  his  name  for  the  honor  Mr.  Winthrop  has  done 
him. 


OF    THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  33 

The  Mayor  announced  the  next  toast :  — 

' '  The  Admiralty  and  Maritime  Courts  of  Russia  and  the  United 
States.  May  they  never  adjudicate  in  questions  of  prize  upon 
American  or  Russian  vessels." 

Richard  H.  Dana,  Jr.,  Esq.,  w^as  called  upon  to  respond. 
He  said :  — 

Mr.  Mayor  :  Adjudication  upon  prizes,  though  it 
may  have  a  judicial  sound,  means  war  ;  and  war  be- 
tween Russia  and  the  United  States  of  America  I  take 
to  be  as  improbable  as  anything  in  human  aifairs.  If 
nearly  a  century  of  harmony  and  good  offices  indicates 
anything,  or  furnishes  any  security  for  future  peace, 
we   have  the  fullest  assurances   here. 

When  we  were  in  the  struggle  for  our  indepen- 
dence, to  throw  off  the  rule  of  a  distant  government 
in  which  we  had  no  voice  or  hand,  which  claimed  an 
unlimited  jurisdiction  over  us  and  all  we  had,  we  sent 
to  Russia  a  citizen  of  Massachusetts  (to  whom  you,  sir, 
and  Mr.  Everett,  have  kindly  alluded  in  connection 
with  my  name) ;  and,  although  she  gave  us  no  fleet  or 
army,  we  got  from  her  a  moral  support,  which  did 
much  —  those  familiar  with  that  history  know  how 
much  —  toward  securing,  at  last,  the  recognition  of 
our  independence.  This,  sir,  was  a  good  beginning ; 
and  circumstances  made  sure  for  years  a  fair  following 
of  the  beginning.  In  that  dark  period  of  wars  the 
world  around,  when  neutrals  were  in  danger  of  being 


34  BANCiUET   TO   THE    OFFICERS 

crushed  between  the  giant  belligerents  at  sea,  Russia 
and  the  United  States  had  a  common  interest,  and 
were  kept  in  sympathy  and  co-operation  on  the  great 
questions  of  belligerent  and  neutral  rights.  It  was  not 
only  the  fear  of  the  mistress  of  the  sea  that  oppressed 
neutral  commerce.  There  was  almost  as  much  danger 
from  coercion,  in  ports  on  the  Continent,  by  the  fee- 
bler maritime  power  of  France.  Thus,  neutrals  were 
threatened  if  they  did  not  co-operate  with  the  weaker, 
or  submit  to  the  law  of  the  stronger.  In  that  partial 
eclipse  of  peace  and  commerce  that  covered  so  long 
the  habitable  globe,  Eussia  and  the  United  States  to- 
gether strove  for  the  light  of  peace  and  the  beneficence 
of  commercial  intercourse. 

But,  sir,  Russia  has  not  only  maintained  peace  with 
us,  but  has  kindly  and  wisely  done  her  best  to  keep  us 
at  peace  with  the  world.  When  the  war  of  1812  was 
upon  us,  she  offered,  as  Mr.  Everett  has  reminded  us, 
her  mediation.  She  did  not  ask  the  contending  par- 
ties to  abide  her  decision  as  an  arbiter,  or  to  allow  of  her 
intervention.  She  asked  them  only  to  receive  her  ad- 
vice as  a  mediator.  We  accepted  the  offer  at  once, 
and  empowered  our  ministers  to  act  upon  it.  Great 
Britain  refused  it,  and  the  war  was  fought  out  to  its 
end.  I  hope  she  had  good  reasons  for  the  refusal ; 
but  Sir  James  Mackintosh  did  not  think  so,  and 
censured  the  refusal  in  terms  of  strong  condemnation. 


OF    THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  35 

Again,  the  treaty  of  1782  had  left  open  a  question  of 
compensation  for  property  —  including  slaves,  I  regret 
to  say  —  on  territory  which  England  was  to  restore  to 
us.  To  whom  did  we  go  for  arbitration  1  Why,  to 
Russia,  most  naturally ;  and  the  arbitration  of  Russia, 
made,  and  repeated  on  new  questions  arising  out  of 
the  first  decision,  was  satisfactory.  But  there  was  one 
question  between  us,  of  such  magnitude  and  difficulty 
that  neither  of  the  Treaties  —  that  of  Paris,  in  1782, 
nor  that  of  Ghent,  in  1814  —  seemed  able  to  close  it, 
—  that  was  the  Northern  Boundary.  Neai;ly  the  whole 
line,  from  the  Island  of  Grand  Menan,  off  Eastport,  to 
the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  was  in  dispute.  Such  was 
our  confidence  in  Russia,  that  we  were  ready  to  put  all 
our  rights  and  interests  on  that  vast  issue  in  her  hands. 
England  objected  to  the  arbitration  of  Russia,  and  we 
fell  back  upon  the  unlucky  King  of  the  Netherlands, 
whose  "  Dutch  highlands,"  lying  in  the  beds  of  rivers, 
left  the  question  open,  with  all  its  elements  of  irrita- 
tion, until  it  was  closed  by  the  great  act  of  three  men, 
capable  of  large  ideas  and  high  action,  —  Peel,  Web- 
ster, and  Asliburton,in  1842. 

This  is  not  all,  sir.  Our  day  of  distress,  vveakness, 
and  peril  came  upon  us.  We  met  with  sad  disap- 
pointment in  the  tone  of  speech  from  friendly  nations. 
They  told  us,  by  the  speeches  of  statesmen  and  the 
voice  of  the    press,    that  we   had    grown  too    strong. 


36  BANQUET    TO    THE    OFFICERS 

and  that  we  must  expect  them  to  wish  for  our  divi- 
sion. Some,  more  civilly,  assured  us  it  was  for  our 
good  to  be  divided.  "  Rise  and  be  hanged,  Master 
Barnardine !  These  are  your  friends,  the  hangmen, 
Master  Barnardine  ! "  I  hope  we  may  forget,  no 
doubt  we  should  try  to  forget,  the  ill-concealed  delight 
with  which  our  misfortunes  were  witnessed,  as  well  as 
the  open  derision,  obloquy,  that  was  poured  upon  us 
in  those  days  :  the  utmost  efforts  made  to  secure 
against  us  the  opinion  of  the  world  on  every  avail- 
able ground.  And  when  the  commander  of  a  sloop  of 
war,  uninstructed,  does  an  act,  the  legality  of  which 
the  law  officers  of  the  British  Crown  and  the  British 
press  first  admitted  and  then  questioned,  without  wait- 
ing to  learn  whether  our  Government  sustained  or  re- 
pudiated it,  the  British  Government,  which,  in  any 
other  state  of  this  country  would  have  unquestionably 
made  it  matter  of  diplomatic  inquiry,  availed  them- 
selves of  the  occasion  to  make  a  military  and  naval 
demonstration  against  our  blockade  and  entire  war, 
—  for  that  I  take  to  have  been  the  plain  English  of 
the  war  movement  in   the  Trent  affair. 

From  this  trying  picture,  how  pleasing  it  is  to 
turn  to  the  aspect  which  Russia  presented  to  us. 
Mr.  Everett  has  read  to  us  the  friendly  and  grace- 
ful message  of  Russia  to  America  sent  to  us  in  our 
darkest  hour,  —  telling  us  that  the  preservation  of  our 


OF    THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  37 

Union  was  essential  to  the  universal  political  equili- 
brium, and  that  Russia  stood  pledged  to  the  most 
friendly  interest.  Well  did  Mr.  Seward,  in  reply,  ac- 
knowledge that  the  friendship  of  Russia  "  had  its  begin- 
ning with  the  national  existence  of  the  United  States." 
I  must  return,  Mr  Mayor,  to  the  subject  to  which 
you  more  immediately  directed  my  attention,  the  prize 
courts  and  navy  of  Russia.  Of  its  courts,  I  cannot 
speak  from  personal  knowledge  ;  but  of  its  navy,  it 
has  been  my  fortune  to  know  something.  I  have  met 
Russian  ships  of  war  in  all  quarters  of  the  globe.  At 
the  Sandwich  Islands,  they  told  me  with  delight  of  the 
escape  of  the  frigate  Diana  from  a  British  fleet  which 
came  to  Honolulu,  in  1854,  a  few  days  after  the  Diana 
hurried  away  ;  —  that  same  frigate  whose  singular 
fate,  a  few  months  afterwards,  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  scientific  world,  lifted  up  from  her  anchors 
in  Simoda  Bay,  in  Japan,  and  swamped  by  one  mon- 
strous swell  of  the  sea,  in  a  quiet  day,  which  rolled 
from  Japan  to  California,  with  the  regularity  of  the 
march  of  a  planet,  raising  and  plunging  everything  in 
its  course,  until  its  last  effects  were  registered  by  the 
astonished  watchers  of  the  tide  gauges  at  San  Diego 
and  San  Francisco  ;  —  and  when  I  was  mentioning 
this,  just  now,  to  the  Russian  officer  whom  I  have  the 
pleasure  of  finding  at  my  side,  he  replied,  — "  O  yes  ! 
our  Admiral  commanded  the  Diana  then."    I  met  them 


38  BANQUET    TO    THE    OFFICERS 

in  China,  in  Japan,  and  I  found  a  squadron  at  Sau 
Francisco ;  and  when  I  went  to  the  navy  yard  at  Mare 
Island,  in  California,  there  I  found  a  room  full  of  Rus- 
sian naval  officers  who  had  been  examining  our  works. 
Wherever  science,  or  general  knowledge,  or  national 
interests  called  them,  there  Russian  ships  of  war 
were  found.  And,  our  friends  will  not  think  me 
indelicate  or  assuming  if  I  pay  my  tribute  to  the 
high  order  of  education  I  always  found  among 
them.  x\ll  spoke  French,  —  and  the  world  knows  that 
Russian  French  is  the  best  out  of  Paris,  —  and  most 
spoke  English  also  ;  and  it  is  well  known  that  among 
Russian  naval  officers  are  found  competent  represen- 
tatives of  their  country  in  diplomacy  and  science  as 
well  as  war. 

Let  me  ask  your  leave,  sir,  to  propose,  not  as  a 
formal  toast,  —  that  is  not  my  office,  —  but  as  a  sen- 
timent to  be  taken  into  our  hearts :  The  friend- 
ship of  Russia  and  Amei'ica,  heg inning  with  our  na- 
tional existence^  in  our  darkest  hour  showing  no  abate- 
ment^ may  it  last  as  long  as  there  shall  he  Russia  in. 
the  old  world  and  United  States  in  the  new. 

At  the  invitation  of  the  Mayor,  Captain  Kremer,  of  the 
Vitiaz,  responded  to  this  sentiment,  speaking  substantially  as 
follows  :  —      ' 

Mr.  Mayor,  —  I  hope  you  do  not  expect  a  very 
handsome  speech,  but  since  I  am  called  upon  I  can 


OF    THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  39 

speak  only  what  is  in  my  heart.  I  take  it  as  a  fact, 
proved  and  confirmed  this  night  by  so  many  remark- 
able orators,  that  Russia  has  a  very  warm  sympathy 
in  the  United  States  ;  and  I  know,  also,  that  Kussia 
as  well  as  the  United  States  at  this  moment  depends 
upon  her  army.  You  have  had  severe  trials,  and  you 
have  them  at  this  moment.  I  know  many  people  in 
Europe  are  surprised  that  you  are  progressing  so 
slowly  towards  Richmond,  but  I  know,  having  been 
in  Sebastopol,  how  to  appreciate  your  difficulties. 
Perhaps  you  may  hear  to-morrow  that  Richmond  is 
taken.  But  whether  it  is  taken  to-morrow  or  after 
to-morrow,  I  have  no  doubt  it  will  be  taken  very 
soon.  I  have  the  honor  to  propose  a  toast  —  "  The 
Army  of  the  United  States." 

The  Mayor  gave  the  following  :  — 

"  T/ie  Army  of  the   Uriiled  States.     In  the  past  our  pride; 
to-day  our  steadfast  hope." 

Lieut. -Col.  D.  F.  Jones,  11th  Regiment,  U.  S.  Infantry, 
responded  briefly. 

The  next  sentiment  was  :  — 

"  The  Navy  of  the  United  States.     The  iron  as  well  as  the 
wooden  walls  of  our  country." 

Rear- Admiral  Stringham  responded,  and  concluded  with  the 
following  :  — 

Russia  —  The    great   Empire    of    the    North :     The    United 
States  —  The   great  Republic   of  the  North :    May  they  con- 


40  BANQUET    TO    THE    OFFICERS 

tinue  to  be  true  to  each  other  until  the  compass  forgets  to 
point  to  the  pole. 

The  jMayor  then  gave  the  following  sentiment,  and  called 
upon  Prof.  Agassiz  to  respond  :  — 

'*  The  man  of  Science,  —  a  citizen  of  every  country.  Are 
we  Americans  ?  so  is  he  ;  are  they  Russians  ?  so  is  he.  With 
us  he  has  always  a  home." 

Prof.  Agassiz  said  :  — 

Mr.  Mayor  :  A  naturalist  is  at  ease  when  called 
upon  to  do  honor  to  the  Russian  navy ;  for  that  branch 
of  the  service  of  the  Empire  has  a  splendid  record  in 
its  connection  with  the  progress  of  the  natural  sciences. 
Scarcely  had  the  great  expedition  which  added  conti- 
nents to  the  world  known  to  the  ancients,  come  to  a 
close,  when,  in  the  competition  for  contributions  to  all 
the  departments  of  science,  the  Russian  navy  took 
a  most  prominent  part.  In  this  century,  especially, 
there  is  only  one  among  the  many  expeditions  sent 
out  by  the  governments  of  Europe,  which  had  the 
start  of  the  cruise  of  Admiral  Krusenstern  around  the 
world,  the  results  of  which  contributed  to  the  progress 
of  every  branch  of  physical  science.  But  as  a  Zoolo- 
gist, I  am  particularly  reminded  of  the  great  impor- 
tance of  the  contributions  to  Natiu'al  History  of  the 
two  expeditions  around  the  world,  commanded  by 
Capt.  Kotzebue.  To  it  we  are  indebted  for  Esch- 
scholtz's  unsurpassed  works  on  Acalephs,  and  to  the 


OF    THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  41 

remarkable  facts  concerning  alternate  generations  ob- 
served by  Chamisso.  Passing  over  the  other  expedi- 
tions which  had  more  direct  bearing  on  geographical 
discovery,  I  cannot  forget  that  Admiral  Liitke's  voy- 
age was  one  of  the  most  important  in  the  annals  of 
physical  science  for  the  comprehensiveness  of  the 
investigations  conducted  by  its  gallant  commander, 
now  President  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  in  St. 
Petersburg.  But  even  the  misfortunes  of  the  Rus- 
sian navy  have  turned  to  good  account  for  science. 
When  the  ship  Diana,  commanded  by  the  Admiral 
whom  we  have  the  honor  to-day  to  welcome  as  our 
guest,  was  wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Japan,  it  sent  to 
our  coast  the  most  important  scientific  message  that 
ever  crossed  the  Pacific.  The  earthquake  wave  that 
shook  it  to  pieces  sent  us  word  that  the  depth  of  the 
ocean,  on  the  line  from  Simoda  to  San  Diego,  is  fifteen 
thousand  feet. 

Well  may  we,  therefore,  congratulate  ourselves 
upon  the  loss  then  sustained ;  and,  instead  of  re- 
gretting it.  Admiral  LessofFsky  may  remember  with 
satisfaction  that  his  name  is  forever  connected  with 
the  first  measurement  of  the  depth  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean. 

At  this  point  the  Mayor  remarked  that,  as  a  pleasant  episode 
in  the  exercises  of  the  occasion,  he  had  the  pleasure  to  present 
to  Admiral  LessofFsky  an  elegantly  bound  volume,  containing  a 
6 


42  BANQUET    TO    THE    OFFICERS 

reprint  of  a  paper  published  in  the  Boston  Courier,  in  1855,  in 
defence  of  the  policy  of  Russia  during  the  Crimean  war,  entitled 
"  A  defence  of  Russia  by  an  American." 

The  Mayor  also  stated  that  the  book  was  printed  for  presen- 
tation by  the  writer  of  the  paper,  and  was  a  magnificent  speci- 
men of  the  typographic  art. 

On  receiving  the  gift,  the  Admiral  said  :  — 

Mr.  Mayor,  —  This  present  cannot  be  too  highly 
valued,  and  I  regret  to  say  that  I  am  little  used  to 
speaking  in  public,  and  cannot  express,  as  I  would 
like,  my  feelings  of  gratitude  for  the  honor  I  have 
received.  I  only  say  this  to  correct  an  error ;  not  an 
error,  but  something  which  is  not  in  this  book.  I 
mean  a  photograph  of  the  banquet  which  is  to  be 
given  to-morrow  to  our  junior  brothers,  the  sailors. 
Wherever  hospitalities  have  been  shown  us  in  differ- 
ent countries,  I  do  not  recollect  a  single  one  where 
the  junior  brothers  have  been  regarded,  and  it  is  to 
the  philanthropy  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachu- 
setts that  the  Russian  sailors  owe  this  most  grati- 
fying event. 

The  name  of  the  author  of  the  work  was  repeatedly  called 
for  by  the  company,  and  the  Mayor  announced  Franklin  W. 
Smith,  Esq.,  a  merchant  of  Boston. 

Mr.  Smith,  on  rising  to  acknowledge  the  calls  of  the  com- 
pany, briefly  stated  the  circumstances  under  which  he  had  been 
led  to  prepare  the  work  just  presented ;  remarking  that,  when 
nine  years  since,  his  ardent  sympathy  and  interest  in  behalf  of 
Russia,  against  the  allied  powers,  incited  him  to  the  expression 


OF    THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  4:3 

of  his  opinions  through  the  public  press,  nothing  was  farther 
from  his  expectations  than  that  they  would  be  reproduced  and 
published  on  such  an  occasion  as  tlie  present ;  and  also  that  the 
Mayor  would  bear  witness  that  this  public  presentation  of  the 
volume  was  not  according  to  the  writer's  intention,  but  at  His 
Honor's  request. 

After  alluding  to  the  extraordinary  advance  of  Russia,  Mr. 
Smith  stated  that  a  few  weeks  since  he  had  been  informed  that 
there  was  in  this  country  an  extraordinary  document,  a  ukase  of 
His  Majesty  Alexander  H.  Fortunately,  he  had  been  able  to 
obtain  a  written  copy  during  the  afternoon,  in  time  for  the 
present  occasion.  It  estabhshed  precedents,  under  law  and 
authority,  that  would  abide  to  her  honor  in  the  annals  of  Russia  ; 
and  would  be  welcomed  by  the  future  historian  as  worthy  to  fol- 
low an  edict  that  gave  freedom  to  twenty-two  million  of  serfs. 

Directly  it  concerned  the  personal  interests  of  two  humble 
individuals,  —  the  smith,  Jamshon,  and  the  tailor,  Gaertner, 
of  the  town  of  Goldingen ;  but  as  directly,  also,  it  recognized 
and  promulgated  the  great  principles  of  religious  toleration,  for 
an  Empire. 

We  may  well  rejoice,  said  Mr.  Smith,  in  the  increasing  evi- 
dence of  the  wonderful  progress  of  Russia,  —  material,  educa- 
tional, political,  and  religious,  — under  the  government  of  His 
Imperial  Majesty  Alexander  II. ,  Autocrat  of  all  the  Russias. 

The  Mayor  then  gave  the  sentiment,  — 

"  The  Merchants  of  America  engaged  in  the  Russian  trade. 
To  whom  we  are  indebted  in  no  small  degree  for  the  cordial 
feeling  which  unites  the  two  nations." 

Joseph  S.  Ropes,  Esq.  responded  as  follows:  — 

I  cannot  refuse,  sir,  to  respond  to  a  call  addressed 
to  Russia  merchants  ;  yet  the  genial  and  friendly  so- 


44  BANQUET    TO   THE    OFFICERS 

,  ciety  into  which  I  have  been  thrown  during  the  last 
week,  carries  me  back  far  beyond  my  mercantile  expe- 
rience, and  makes  me  desire  to  speak  rather  as  the 
graduate  of  a  Russian  university.  My  own  place  of 
education  was  but  a  stone's  throw  distant  from  that  of 
my  friend  the  Admiral,  and  I  have  near  me,  not  class- 
mates indeed,  but  successors  in  the  institution  which  I 
am  proud  to  call  my  alma  mater. 

A  thoughtful  mind  can  hardly  fail  to  notice  the  par- 
allel which  suggests  itself  (indeed  it  has  already  been 
alluded  to)  between  the  two  nations  here  represented. 
We  call  a  continent  our  inheritance  ;  but  Russia  stands 
between  two  continents,  of  both  whose  destinies  she 
may  one  day  be  the  arbitress.  Like  us  she  has  vast 
prairies,  broad  inland  seas,  rivers  that  water  half  a 
continent,  mountains  abounding  in  wealth  of  iron  and 
copper,  silver  and  gold ;  vast  material  resources,  the 
development  of  which  will  one  day  astonish  the  world. 
Even  her  errors  and  misfortunes  have  their  parallel  in 
our  own ;  and  her  experience  is  in  some  respects  the 
prophecy  of  our  future. 

But  the  most  striking  and  interesting  point  of  com- 
parison between  us  has  been  already  and  most  elo- 
quently dwelt  upon.  We  have  all  heard  of  Peter  the 
Great,  whose  resolute  energy  transformed  the  face  of 
an  empire.  But  there  was  one  obstacle  before  which 
even  his  iron  will  was  forced  to  recoil,  —  the  national 


OF    THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  45 

heard^  which  typified  the  ignorance,  stupidity,  and  su- 
perstition of  the  Russian  peasant.  He  could  shave  his 
army,  his  navy,  his  nobihty  ;  but  his  peasantry  he 
could  not  shave.  In  other  words,  he  could  not  raise 
them  to  the  level  of  civilized  and  educated  humanity. 

Alexander  the  First  attempted  emancipation,  and 
failed.  Nicholas  made  one  experiment  and  immediately 
abandoned  it.  Alexander  the  Second  has  accomplished 
it !  Future  history  will  record  the  noble  magnanimity, 
the  indefatigable  perseverance,  the  indomitable  energy, 
and  the  steadfast  resolution  by  which  that  great  work, 
the  greatest  as  it  seems  to  me  of  this  or  of  any  age,  has 
been  successfully  completed. 

On  one  of  the^  vast  squares  of  St.  Petersburg 
stands  a  magnificent  column,  bearing  a  colossal 
bronze  statue,  and  dedicated,  as  its  inscription  tells 
us,  by  "  grateful  Russia  to  Alexander  the  First." 
But  in  the  hearts  of  thirty  millions  of  emancipated 
peasants,  Alexander  the  Second  has  laid  the  foun- 
dations of  a  monument  more  enduring  than  that 
bronze,  — ^^  a  pyramid  more  lofty  than  the  royal  and 
imperial  palace  which  it  overshadows,  —  one  which 
the  frosts  and  storms  of  northern  winter  can  never 
injure,  and  to  which  time  will  but  add  new  strength 
and  beauty. 

And  here,  sir,  I  might  fitly  pause ;  but  the  knowl- 
edge that  many  ears  near  me  which  would  gladly 
hear    the    praises    of    their    noble    monarch,    cannot 


46  BANQUET    TO    THE    OFFICERS 

readily  appreciate  them  in  a  foreign  tongue,  induces 
me,  in  accordance  with  your  kind  invitation,  to  en- 
deavor, in  my  poor  vs^ay,  to  express  to  them  some- 
what of  our  feelings  on  this  occasion. 

The  following  remarks  were  made  in  the  Russian  lan- 
guage :  — 

Gentlemen  of  Russia,  our  honored  Guests  :  — 
Permit  me,  an  American,  yet  for  you  not  a  foreigner, 
to  express  to  you  the  esteem  and  present  the  sincere 
and  hearty  greetings,  not  only  of  the  City  of  Boston,- 
but  of  the  whole  American  people.  Returning  to 
your  homes,  bring  to  your  countrymen  the  assurance 
that  Americans  have  not  forgotten,  and  never  will 
forget,  the  ancient  and  steadfast  friendship^  shown 
them  by  the  sovereigns  and  the  people  of  Russia. 
Fifty  years  ago,  we  heard  of  Alexander  the  First  as 
the  deliverer  of  Europe  from  a  heavy  political  yoke ; 
but  in  Alexander  the  Second  we  have  found  the 
benefactor  of  mankind,  bestowing  personal  liberty, 
domestic  happiness,  and  civil  rights  on  thirty  mil- 
lions of  people.  "  Grateful  Russia  to  Alexander  the 
First,"  has  raised  amidst  her  capital  a  noble  monu- 
ment ;  but  Alexander  the  Second  will  be  celebrated 
with  eternal  praise  by  grateful  humanity. 

The  Mayor  then  gave,  — 

"  Emancijmtion  in  Russia.  The  noblest  work  of  Imperial 
Justice." 


OF   THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  47 

Hon.  J.  G.  Palfrey  responded,  and  concluded  by  giving  a 
sentiment  of  perpetual  peace  between  Russia  and  the  United 
States. 

Lieut.  Col.  John  Q.  Adams,  Aide-de-camp  of  his  Excel- 
lency the  Governor,  was  introduced  by  the  Mayor  as  one  of 
the  grandsons  alluded  to  by  Mr.  Everett. 

Col.  Adams  spoke  as  commissioned,  he  said,  by  his  Excel- 
lency, of  the  bond  of  friendship  between  the  two  countries, 
growing  out  of  the  emancipation  of  the  Russian  serfs  and  the 
American  slaves. 

Rev.  William  Hague,  D.  D.  was  next  introduced.  He 
responded  briefly  for  "  The  Clergy." 

In  response  to  a  call  from  the  Mayor,  Hon.  George  S. 
Hale,  President  of  the  Common  Council,  made  the  following 
remarks  :  — 

I  cannot  but  be  grateful,  sir,  for  the  accident  of  my 
official  position,  which  induces  you  to  call  upon  me  as 
the  representative  of  one  branch  of  the  City  Govern- 
ment, and  gives  me  an  opportunity  to  join  in  expressing 
in  their  behalf  the  hearty  and  cordial  welcome  we  are 
here  to  give  to  our  distinguished  guests  —  the  repre- 
sentatives of  a  great  and  friendly  power,  who  gave  us 
so  early  and  so  kind  a  welcome  into  the  family  of 
nations,  whose  cordiality  has  been  so  constant  in  pros- 
perity, whose  sympathy  so  ready  in  our  adversity.  I 
know  there  are  many  who  are  surprised  at  these  cor- 
dial relations  between  nations  whose  institutions  are 
apparently  so  diverse.  But  I  have  learned  also  that 
those  who  have  studied  them  more  closely  find  the 
explanation  easy.     The  greatest  empire  and  the  great- 


48  BANQUET   TO    THE    OFFICERS 

est  republic,  the  mightiest  autocrat  and  the  most  pow- 
erful democracy,  balance  the  political  scales  of  the 
world,  —  what  wonder  that  they  look  upon  each  other 
with  interest  1  In  Russia,  as  in  America,  different 
races,  —  "  Parthians,  and  Medes,  and  Elamites,  and  the 
dwellers  in  Mesopotamia,"  —  as  it  were,  are  rapidly 
forming  one  homogeneous  nation,  entitled  by  all  intel- 
lectual and  physical  laws  to  an  inheritance  of  vigorous 
intellects  in  strong  bodies. 

I  do  not  think  it  is  altogether  fanciful  to  suppose  that 
the  physical  peculiarities  of  the  two  countries  may  tend 
to  assimilate  the  nations  that  inhabit  them.  In  each, 
vast  territories,  mighty  rivers,  and  inland  seas,  varied 
climates  and  abundant  w^ealth,  on  land,  in  the  seasr, 
and  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  stimulate  the  same 
restless  ambition,  the  same  vastness  of  purpose,  the 
same  eagerness  in  the  pursuit  of  wealth  and  free- 
dom in  its  expenditure.  I  read  that,  twenty-five  years 
ago,  the  present  Emperor  of  the  French  —  a  witness 
not  too  partial  to  either  —  declared  that  he  could  then 
"  perceive  only  two  governments  which  properly  fulfil 
their  providential  mission,  —  the  two  colossi  at  the  end 
of  the  world,  —  one  at  the  extremity  of  the  new,  the 
other  of  the  old."  Each,  he  said  —  "  the  one  guided 
by  a  single  wiU,  the  other  by  liberty  "  —  was  charged 
with  the  noble  office  of  winning  to  civilization  the  vast 
territories  which  lay  before  their  open   grasp.     And 


OF    THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  *         49 

under  the  influence  of  these  causes  their  tendencies  in 
some  respects  are  singularly  coincident.  The  tendency 
in  Russia  to-day  is,  to  free  the  slave;  to  raise  the  masses; 
to  spread  education  among  them ;  to  render  them  inde- 
pendent by  assuring  to  them  an  interest  in  the  soil ;  to 
diminish  the  power  of  the  privileged  classes ;  to  increase 
that  of  the  lavr,  and  to  improve  its  administration. 

What  wonder  if  two  nations  sympathize  with  each 
other,  one  of  whom  turns  with  just  pride  to  the  mem- 
ory of  its  greatest  Sovereign,  that  "  Pieter  Timmer- 
man,"  the  shipwright  at  Saardam,  who  "  rose  early, 
boiled  his  own  pot,  and  received  wages  for  his  labor ; " 
while  the  other  welcomes  and  recalls  to  its  highest 
post  one  who  hardened  his  hand  with  early  toil,  and 
accepts  as  the  political  cry  of  an  election  the  appella- 
tion which  proclaims  such  an  origin  ?  What  wonder 
if  America,  in  its  eager  race  westward  and  southward, 
has  sometimes  paused  to  watch  with  interest  the  giant 
strides  of  Russia  over  new  lands  and  seas.  It  is  said, 
sir,  that  "  the  Yankee  farmer  and  the  Russian  peasant 
are  the  only  rustic  people  on  the  face  of  the  earth  who 
are  capable  of  holding  town  meetings,  and  who  do  so 
instinctively  and  practically."  And,  in  language  whose 
accuracy  I  will  not  assume  to  judge,  but  which  might 
well  apply  to  ourselves,  they  are  described  as  restless, 
fond  of  emigration,  hospitable  and  lavish,  eager  in  the 
pursuit  of  wealth,  but  not  tenacious  in  retaining  it. 


50  BANQUET   TO    THE    OFFICERS 

"  What  is  decided  by  the  community,"  says  their 
proverb,  -'must  come  to  pass,  —  the  will  of  the  peo- 
ple is  the  will  of  God." 

Shall  not  a  community  like  ours,  wdth  educational 
institutions,  in  which  it  takes  a  just  pride,  feel  a  warm 
and  earnest  sympathy  with  those  serfs  of  whom  our 
distinguished  guest  has  spoken;  who,  within  two  years, 
since  freedom  was  fully  theirs,  have  established  four 
thousand  schools  at  their  own  expense  ?  And,  while  I 
am  speaking  of  educational  institutions,  pardon  me  if  I 
allude  to  two  local  coincidences  which  cannot  but  have 
some  interest  for  us  at  this  moment. 

That  admirable  instrument,  the  telescope  at  Cam- 
bridge, which  we  had  the  pleasure  of  exhibiting  to  our 
guests  a  few  days  since,  is  the  twin  sister  of  another 
of  similar  worth,  which  adorns  the  Russian  observa- 
tory at  Pulkowa,  wrought  by  the  same  cunning  hand. 
Hardly  does  that  cease  to  count  the  stars,  when  this 
takes  up  the  wondrous  tale, — and  the  rising  sun  bears 
to  us  a  greeting  from  those  whom  his  declining  rays 
there  invite  to  their  nightly  labors. 

That  other  instrument,  also,  which  to-morrow  will 
seek  to  give  another  welcome,  in  tones  more  dulcet  and 
harmonious  than  the  vox  humana  to-night  —  the  Great 
Organ  at  the  Music  Hall  —  is  the  work  of  the  same 
artist  who  constructed,  nearly  thirty  years  ago,  a  simi- 
lar instrument  for  St.  Peter's  Church  at  St.  Petersburg, 


OF    THE    RUSSIAN    FLEET.  51 

unequalled  by  any  other  in  the  Empire,  as  this  is  the 
finest  in  the  Republic. 

It  is  a  singular  and  pleasing  application  of  the  senti- 
ment of  Louis  Napoleon  already  quoted,  that  there,  an 
imperial  decree  "  guided  by  a  single  will,"  recognized 
the  claims  of  art  in  remitting  the  duties  upon  the 
organ  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  while  here,  Liberty,  ex- 
pressed by  law,  admitted  our  own,  in  the  same  way,  as 
a  work  of  art. 

But,  above  all,  sir,  what  wonder  that  we,  who,  after 
so  many  years  of  political  strife,  and  now,  through  I 
dare  not  count  how  many  tears,  how  much  agony  and 
what  rivers  of  blood,  hope  at   last  to  reach  the  lib- 
eration of  four  millions  of  men,  to  whom  we  are  bound 
by  the    tie  of  a  common   humanity  1  —  what  wonder 
that  we  should  turn  with  admiration,  with  sympathy, 
with   respect   and    affection,  to   the   man,  be  he  em- 
peror or  autocrat,  who  has  lifted   into   the   pure    air 
of  freedom,  by  measures  full  of  wise  and  apprehensive 
caution,  over  twenty-two  millions  of  men  of  the  same 
race  and   blood,  and  to  the  nation  who  have  sustained 
his  undertaking  with  disinterested  patriotism  ;  and  who 
seem  both  to  recognize  that  sentiment  so  familiar  to 
us  in  the  often  quoted  words  of  the  most  mellifluous 
of  English  poets,  — 

"  Princes  and  Lords  may  flourish  or  may  fade, 
A  breath  can  make  them,  as  a  breath  has  made  ; 


52  BANQUET    TO    THE    OFFICERS 

But  a  bold  peasantry  their  country's  pride, 
When  once  destroyed  can  never  be  supplied,"  — 

and  aim  to  secure  to  their  country  this  foundation. 
I  wish,  sir,  that  I  could  borrow  the  knowledge,  the 
memory,  and  the  silver  tongue  of  the  distinguished 
gentleman  by  your  side  to  whom  we  have  listened  with 
so  much  pleasure  this  evening,  that  I  might  recount 
the  early  instances  of  Russian  courtesy,  and  the  signi- 
ficant and  frequent  cordialities  of  her  sovereigns.  We 
all  remember  the  philosophic  and  statesmanlike  letter 
in  which  Prince  Gortschakoff  expressed  the  sympathy 
of  his  august  master,  and, 

•'  Last  of  all,  an  admiral  came  ;  " 

not,  in  the  humorous  words  of  the  English  poet, — 

"  A  terrible  man,  with  a  terrible  name," 

but  an  accomplished  and  cultivated  gentleman,  of  supe- 
rior intellect,  abundant  knowledge,  quick  and  careful 
observation,  and  ready  appreciation,  familiar  with  men 
and  the  world,  like  that  Homeric  sailor,  and  bearing 
a  name  which  we  shall  long  remember  with  high  re- 
gard. Russia  seems  to  us  to-day,  as  our  great  poet  of 
creation  writes,  like  the 

"  Lion  pawing  to  get  free 
His  hinder  parts,"  ready  to  spring,  "  as  broke  from  bonds." 


OF    THE   RUSSIAN    FLEET.  53 

While  those,  I  think,  who  have  studied  her  progress, 
and  the  spirit  which  is  rising  there,  look  forward 
with  hope  to  the  hour  when  liberal  institutions  shall 
spread  — 

"  Where,  through  the  sand  of  morning  land, 
The  camel  bears  the  spice  ; 
Where  fur-clad  hunters  wander 
Amid  the  northern  ice," 

and  Europe  become  in  a  nobler  sense  both  Eepublican 
and  Cossack. 

Mr.  Mayor,  the  feast  is  ended.  The  wine  is  poured. 
You  have  given  to  me  the  office  of  fulfilling  the  Hom- 
eric maxim,  which  bids  us  to  — 

"  Welcome  the  coming,  speed  the  parting  guest." 

And  I  pray  our  friends,  for  such  we  claim  them  now, 
to  bear  to  their  homes,  on  a  happy  and  prosperous 
voyage,  the  cordial  greeting  of  the  Republic  to  the 
Empire. 


MUSICAL    FESTIVAL 


FESTIVAL. 


On  the  eighth  of  June  the  officers  of  the  Russian  Fleet  at- 
tended a  Festival  at  Music  Hall,  given  in  their  honor,  by  twelve 
hundred  pupils  of  the  Public  Schools  of  the  city.  The  following 
programme  was  successfully  carried  out. 


SONG-     oin     ~weil.com:e. 

uljr— Russian  National  Hymn. 

Sea-birds  of  Mascovy,  rest  in  our  waters, 
Fold  your  white  wings  by  our  rouk-girdled  sliore ; 

While  with  jrliid  voices  its  sons  and  its  d!iu;,'liters, 
Welcome  the  friends  ye  have  wafted  us  o'er. 

Sea-kings  of  Neva,  our  hearts  throb  your  greeting ! 

Deep  as  the  anchors  your  frigates  let  fall, 
Down  to  the  fount  where  our  life-pulse  is  boating, 

Sink  the  kind  accents  you  bear  to  us  all. 

Fires  of  the  North,  in  eternal  oommanlon. 

Blend  your  broad  flashes  with  evening's  bright  star  ! 
Uod  bless  the  Empire  that  loves  the  great  Union  ; 
Strength  to  her  people !    Long  life  to  the  Czar  I 

To  BE  FOLLOWED  BY  "HAIL  CoLUMUIA." 


II. 

TRIO. 

From  "  Elijah " Mendklssohn. 

SwH)  bi/  the  pui)Us  of  the  Girls'  Hiyh  and  Normal  Scluwl. 

8 


58  MUSICAL    FESTIVAL, 

in. 

CHO  R^L. 

"  Let  all  men  Praise  the  Lord  ''    .  .  .  .  .  .  Mknoei.ssuiin. 

TV. 

SEIjECTION-S    for    the    GS^REAT    ORGrAN. 

By  Mr.  B.  J.  Lang. 

V. 
PRAYER    from:    r>ER    ERPnSCHTJTZ. 

IN  MUTEn  TONES. 

Von  Weber. 

VI. 
GIjORIA.     IN"      EXCELSIS. 
From  the  " Twelfth  Mass  "  .......  Mozart. 

vn. 

THE      OLD     HUNDREDTH     PSALM:. 

From  all  that  dwell  below  the  skies 
Let  the  Creator's  praise  arise ; 
Let  the  Redeemer's  name  be  sunpr. 
Through  every  land,  by  every  tongue. 

I 

Eternal  are  thy  mercjes.  Lord ; 

Eternal  truth  attends  thy  word  ; 

Thy  praise  shall  sound  from  shore  to  shore, 

Till  suns  sliall  rise  and  set  no  more. 


b 


